The US government moved about $470 million in seized crypto to possible Coinbase Prime addresses, in accordance to Arkham, reviving questions over potential asset gross sales.
On Oct. 7, blockchain analytics agency Arkham Intelligence said the transfers included Bitcoin, wrapped Bitcoin and USDT.
Arkham linked the transferred belongings to seizures involving the 2016 Bitfinex hack and Alameda Research, the buying and selling agency beforehand managed by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Whereas we clearly cannot say the Bitcoin is being offered, it’s one believable end result. It is most likely simply as possible they’re performing inner pockets hygiene or administrative work.
Nonetheless, the vacation spot places the transaction beneath better scrutiny after the Trump administration pledged to retain Bitcoin positioned in the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and federal officers earlier this yr rejected claims that seized cash had been quietly offered.
A earlier sale declare ended in a government denial
The newest motion lands 9 months after the US Marshals Service pushed again towards stories that Washington had disposed of Bitcoin surrendered in the Samourai Pockets legal case.
Bitcoin Journal reported in January that roughly $6.3 million of Bitcoin paid to the Justice Division as a part of responsible pleas appeared to have been offered. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, considered one of Congress’ most distinguished Bitcoin advocates, responded by questioning why the government would liquidate the asset after President Donald Trump had directed officers to protect Bitcoin for the nationwide reserve.
However the Marshals Service told DL News it had not offered these BTC, whereas including that its crypto liquidations go by a multi-level approval course of earlier than forfeited belongings may be disposed of.
The difficulty turned extra delicate after Trump established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in March 2025. His executive order stated Bitcoin deposited into the reserve “shall not be offered” and will as a substitute be maintained as a US reserve asset.
The White Home argued at the time that untimely government Bitcoin gross sales had already value taxpayers greater than $17 billion in foregone worth.
Seized Bitcoin doesn’t routinely imply reserve Bitcoin
The coverage, nevertheless, leaves room for some government-controlled crypto to transfer out of federal arms.
Trump’s order permits digital belongings to be disposed of when required by a courtroom or regulation, and when officers decide that belongings or their proceeds must be returned to verified crime victims, used for law-enforcement functions or utilized towards different statutory forfeiture obligations.
That distinction could possibly be significantly essential for these newest transfers.
The government seized about 95,000 Bitcoin in 2022 from wallets managed by Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan as a part of the investigation into the Bitfinex hack. Lichtenstein later admitted to hacking the change, the place about 119,754 Bitcoin had been stolen in 2016. Authorities subsequently seized one other roughly $475 million in belongings tied to the theft.
These belongings have confronted competing forfeiture and restitution claims, so their authorized therapy might differ from Bitcoin already transferred into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The FTX collapse additionally led to legal forfeiture proceedings. The choose in Bankman-Fried’s case authorized recovered forfeiture funds to compensate victims, including one other potential victim-repayment dimension to the newest actions.
That makes Wednesday’s transaction a check of how a lot may be inferred from government wallets alone.
A confirmed sale of Bitcoin deposited into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, exterior the order’s exceptions, would reopen questions over whether or not federal companies are following the administration’s accumulation coverage. A switch made for custody, restitution or one other permitted forfeiture function would fall into a distinct class.
For now, Arkham stories a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} leaving US government wallets for possible Coinbase Prime deposit addresses. Whether or not these belongings stay there, transfer into new custody preparations, or are transformed into {dollars} will decide whether or not the transaction turns into one other false alarm over government Bitcoin gross sales or the primary signal of a big new disposal.
